All Alone in Love
by Merenwen Calmcacil
Summary: Married life has softened her already. She hasn’t even been married a year yet and he can see the difference in her. Her hair is the same length it still bounces around her shoulders. Her eyes still sparkle, maybe more so than ever before. But unfortunatl


Disclaimer: No I do not own Nancy Drew. The paring in this fic will remain a secret until later. I know it is relatively short, but it worked best that way.

He sat in the mall on a bench. He'd gone to the mall a lot since her wedding day. For some odd reason he liked watching all the people. Mostly he liked to see the young married couples and imagine how life would have been for them. He knows it's wishful thinking, but those thoughts haunt his every waking hour. He can see her, feel her soft skin. Her memory surrounds him. She's not dead, but she's not his either. Suddenly he hears someone call his name.

He would know that voice anywhere. She rushed up to him and throws her arms around his neck. "How are you?" she questions sweetly. Married life has softened her already. She hasn't even been married a year yet and he can see the difference in her. Her hair is the same length; it still bounces around her shoulders. Her eyes still sparkle, maybe more so than ever before. She looks like she's gained weight. That didn't seem like his Nancy. She was always so health conscious. He asks about her husband and her eyes get that much brighter at the sound of his name. If only he could have been the one to make her so happy.

"He'll be here in a few minutes," she explains happily. "I just went to the doctor today and now I have some news for him. I hope he doesn't mind if I tell you first, but I have to tell someone." He could feel his muscles tense. He knows exactly what she is going to say. She's going to have a baby, and then they'll have the perfect little family. They'll buy a house in a nice suburb that has a big yard with a fence. She'll call every now and then, but she'll be so wrapped up in her family, she'll forget all about him for the most part.

"I'm going to have a baby!" she exclaims excitedly. He arranges a smile on his face, because in all reality he isn't the least bit happy. That child only reminds him that it should be him she's waiting for. She should be having his baby. He congratulates her enthusiastically and she glows with happiness. She asks about his family. She always liked his family, maybe because it was larger than her own. Maybe she had loved his family more than she loved him, which might explain why their relationship hadn't worked.

He can see her husband looking for her. He's craning his neck to look over the crowd. She sees him and waves. His grin nearly splits his face in half. They look so happy together. He really had just been wasting his time and hers. She's married him anyway and now they were going to have a baby. That was still hard to believe. Nancy Drew was not a family kind of woman. She was fiercely independent and waited for no one. She catered to no one. Would she like catering to an infant?

Her husband waves back and in the blink of an eye he is at her side. He turns to press a kiss against her cheek but she turns her head to give him a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. She strings her arm through his and lets her head rest against his shoulder. The blue of his shirt makes her eyes brighter. His uniform looks as fresh as if he'd just put it on, but in all reality he'd worked the night shift and had just gotten off. He'd had a long shift, twelve hours on duty and there were faint circles under his eyes. But with her on his arm, he looked like a king.

"Are you tired sweetheart?" she asks with worry hinting in her tone of voice. His reply is to lean down and kiss her cheek.

"Nothing something to eat and a good cup of coffee won't cure," he assures her with a smile. They look so perfect together, like a couple out of a movie. He's a police officer, still in uniform with his gun belt around his waist. She's wearing a lovely green sun dress with little pink flowers. She looks so delicate next to him. One year ago he never would have used the word delicate to describe Nancy. But one year ago she hadn't been as happy. Now she glowed with a light that could not be identified.

Their wedding had been a fairy tale. They were married at Disney World in Cinderella's Castle, a thank you gift from Disney for Nancy's help finding several missing board members. He'd been invited, but claimed to have come down with the flu two days before the wedding and said he couldn't attend. But Nancy had shown him pictures none the less. Everyone had dressed up like lords and ladies. Her husband to be had been prince charming and of course, she was Cinderella. Everyone had gotten in the spirit and Hannah had gone as Cinderella's fairy godmother. Their wedding had been exactly three-hundred twenty-five days ago. Each hour was a reminder to him that the love of his life belonged to another man.

"It was good seeing you Frank," Nancy says as she clings to her husband's arm. "Come on Ned, there is something I want you to come look at with me." Frank watches them walk away. She looks radiant and he can see her leading her husband towards a store that sells baby things. He can here Ned's shout of joy from across the mall. He can vaguely see Ned lift Nancy in his arms and twirl her around. He could only imagine the kiss she gives him as reward for being so happy over the addition to their little family.

Two hours later Frank Hardy sat in the same spot. He saw Nancy and Ned coming back towards him, but they obviously did not see him. Ned was carrying at least seven shopping bags from maternity stores and baby stores. "I can't wait to start decorating the nursery…" he heard Nancy say with a smile. Ned was glowing with pride as he led his wife out of the mall. Frank could only hope that Ned Nickerson knew what a lucky man he was to be Nancy's husband. He'd have given anything to make her glow like that.

But Nancy had made her choice, maybe long before they had ever met. He remembered once looking through Nancy's diary. It had been sneaky and dishonest, but he had done it. He'd seen an entry that was only two lines long and that caught his attention. It was dated years before and it read: "I met the man I am going to marry tonight. His name is Ned and I think he is perfect."


End file.
